Secrets
by Neo Namco
Summary: Ash has a secret. Misty has a secret. Delia has a secret. Everyone has secrets. Inspired by the song 'Ive Got A Secret' from Pokemon Live


_This story is inspired by a song performed during 'Pokemon Live.' Don't worry, it's not a song fic, except for the lyrics to the song at the beginning, then it's over._

_This story is also from the point of view of Misty. Don't get confused.(Ash is 19, Misty is 20, Brock is 23, and Delia is 37)_

_(MRS. KETCHUM)  
I CAN NEVER TELL HIM  
WHAT HAPPENED LONG AGO  
THE TRUTH ABOUT MY PAST  
IS SOMETHING HE SHOULD NEVER KNOW_

_(MISTY)  
I CAN NEVER TELL HIM  
MY FEELINGS DEEP INSIDE  
THE TRUTH WITHIN MY HEART  
IS SOMETHING I MUST ALWAYS HIDE_

_(MRS. KETCHUM)  
HIS WHOLE LIFE LIES AHEAD  
SO MUCH TRAINING TO BE DONE  
AND AS HIS MOTHER, I'LL PROTECT THE FUTURE FOR MY SON_

_(MISTY)  
HIS LOVE IS OVERWHELMING  
IN ITS LIGHT I'D LIKE TO BE  
BUT HE SHARES IT ALL WITH POKEMON  
THERE'S JUST NO ROOM FOR ME_

**From the writer of 'Good Riddance'**

_(MISTY & MRS. KETCHUM)  
I'VE GOT A SECRET THAT TEARS UP MY SOUL  
AND KEEPING IT HIDDEN HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL  
I CAN'T TELL THE TRUTH CAUSE HE MIGHT TURN AWAY  
SO I'LL KEEP THIS SECRET__ IT'S BETTER THAT WAY_

**And 'High Spirit'**

_(ASH)  
EACH END'S A NEW BEGINNING  
EACH DARKNESS HAS ITS DAWN  
MY TEARS CAN'T FALL FOREVER  
SO NOW I MUST MOVE ON  
MY HOPES ARE STILL THE SAME FOR THE MAN I'D LIKE TO BE  
AND I WILL MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE  
JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
I'VE GOT A SECRET_

_(ASH)  
THERE'S NO TURNING BACK_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
THAT TEARS UP MY SOUL_

_(ASH)  
THERE'S NO GIVING UP_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
KEEPING IT HIDDEN_

_(ASH)  
LIFE STILL GOES ON_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL_

_(ASH)  
NO MATTER HOW TOUGH_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
I CAN'T TELL THE TRUTH_

_(ASH)  
I'M GONNA MISS YOU_

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
CAUSE HE MIGHT TURN AWAY_

_(ASH)  
MORE AND MORE EACH DAY_

**A Neo Namco Fic:**

_(MRS. KETCHUM & MISTY)  
SO I'LL KEEP THIS SECRET_

_(ASH)  
BUT I'LL KEEP ON GOING_

_(MRS. KETCHUM, MISTY & ASH)  
IT'S BETTER THAT WAY _

**Secrets**

Did this all really happen?...Was it all...just a dream? It was four years ago today on July 13th of 2007 that the worst day of my life unfolded. Everything was going according to plan prior to that dreadful day. But something went wrong. Terribly wrong.

On a warm July evening out in the woods near Pallet Town, Ash and Pikachu and I were sitting a top a hill looking at the stars. It was only a couple of days before my life was ruined.

He looked so happy there next to me. The smile he showed kept it's form forever it seemed. Pikachu slept in his arms as he pet it's stomach. The soft snoring of the pokemon was very soothing.

"It sure is beautiful tonight huh, Mist?" he asked me.

"I know. I haven't seen it look like this for quite some time." I felt my face get hot. I knew i was blushing. The reason being that i was getting wet. Ash didn't have to do much to get me in the mood. Just his words were enough to get my juices flowing.

"I wish i could stay like this forever." I said, hoping he would respond back with the same feeling.

"Yeah." he nodded. Silence followed.

It must have been about ten minutes later after the silence that something was finally said. "Misty..."

"Yeah, Ash." I turned to him. He had his focus towards the sky off in the distance. He sounded very serious, so my attention was a hundred and ten percent on what he had to say.

"I have some...something to...something i want to tell you. A secret. I've wanted to tell you, and anybody for that matter for a long time. But I'm not sure how you'll react. I'm scared to death." he wasn't lying. He sounded so scared and nervous. I had never heard him sound like that in my life. It got me scared too.

"It's ok, Ash. I'm your friend. I wont judge you or turn away no matter what you have to say. And i think we're close enough that we can tell each other anything."

"Thanks, Mist." he smiled at me, and i knew he felt a lot more comfortable about what he wanted to say then. I smiled back and placed my left hand on his lower back.

"Well...I..." he struggled to get his words out. He still sounded nervous. "I..."

But he wasn't able to say anymore because an interruption occurred. "Ash! Misty! Supper's ready!" Brock yelled.

I had never been that angry with Brock in my life than that moment on that night when Ash was about to tell me his biggest secret. Brock had to ruin everything.

"Come on you two!" he yelled once again, further upsetting me. My temperature was boiling.

"Sorry, Mist. I'll have to tell ya later." Ash said, getting up off the ground. He walked down the hill to where Brock was.

I just sat there, watching him leave me. I turned back to the scene ahead of me and looked up at the stars. I sighed and decided i would go eat since i was starving anyways.

The next morning at about 11:45am, we all arrived in Pallet Town. We were visiting Ash's mother and Professor Oak before heading to the Indigo Plateau where Ash would be competing against the Elite 4 to try and earn the title as 'Pokemon Master.'

The previous night I overheard Ash talking on his cell phone to Gary. He was talking about me and how he came close to telling me, but couldn't get it out. Hopefully now that we were at his house, he'd be telling me privately in his room, then the romantic make out scene would take place, followed by much more. That was my fantasy.

Ash knocked on the door of his house "Mom. I'm home."

Mr. Mime answered the door "Mime! Mime-mime-mime!" he shouted. Mrs. Ketchum was next to arrive at the door.

"Ash! It's so good to see you!" she wrapped him up in a big gut-wrenching hug. Brock, Pikachu, and I all laughed, seeing just how much she missed her son.

"And of course it's good to see all of you too. Brock, Misty, and Pikachu."

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Ketchum." i said with a smile.

She welcomed us in and we all took our seats in the family room on the couch. Mrs K sat in her rocking chair. "Have you ate lunch yet?" she asked us.

"No. and I'm starving!" Ash shouted immediately following his mom's question. "I'm so hungry I could eat a wailord." he said, making us all laugh.

"Well good, cuz that's exactly what we're having." Mrs. Ketchum said, getting off her chair and walking into the kitchen.

We all stopped laughing, and exchanged worried glances at each other. "Really?" Ash asked, frightened.

"No. Your all so serious." Mrs. Ketchum said with a chuckle. Then the four of us, including Pikachu all laughed.

After breakfast, Brock went off to Professor Oak's laboratory to visit. Ash left to Gary's house with Pikachu, leaving me all alone with his mother and Mr. Mime. I walked down the hallway leading to the bedroom's. I examined the pictures hanging on the walls.

A few of them included me and Brock with Ash. Most of them were of Ash before he met us though. He was much younger in the majority of the photos. I was amazed at how many pictures of just Ash there were. I understand having a few pictures of a mother's only child on the wall. But the seemingly endless amount of photographs that contained Ash and Ash alone was just ridiculous. I had never seen anything like it before.

One of the pictures had Ash as a very young boy, lying in a hospital bed. His smile would make you think that he wasn't at a hospital, but at Disney World. That's when i truly understood how much Delia Ketchum loved her son, because so many pictures lined the walls. The previous times I came to this house, the pics weren't hung up.

I couldn't help but smile due to not only all the photographs of Ash, but the situations of his surroundings in those photographs. I felt at that moment that I had somehow grown closer to Ash.

That night everyone was back together, including Professor Oak and Tracy. We all sat at the dining room table eating dinner, and most of us were almost finished at this point.

"There's something I forgot to tell you all." Mrs. Ketchum said.

"Oh yes. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised, Ash." Professor Oak said cheerfully.

"Did you buy me an I phone, Mom?" Ash asked, excited.

"No. I had a pool installed a couple months ago in the backyard."

"Oh." Ash sounded disappointed.

"Does that mean I'll get to see you in a bathing suit Mrs. Ketchum?" Brock asked, hopingly.

"Um...sure." she smiled and sweat dropped.

Ash's mom got up from the table and walked to the sliding glass door that lead to the backyard. She pulled the blinds back so we could see it. But outside, laying in the pool on a floaty was an unfamiliar blond haired man. A Raichu was also lying on a floaty in the water beside him.

"Whose that, Mrs. Ketchum?" I asked, worried that he might be a stranger to her as well.

"That's my pool boy, Bryan Anderson. He used to be a pokemon trainer until Team Rocket stole all his pokemon except for his Raichu. He needed some work, so i hired him." she explained.

We all stood there staring at him. "It doesn't look like he's doing any work to me." Brock said.

"I know. He's very lazy." Mrs. Ketchum said. Then she banged on the glass and started yelling at him. Eventually he would get back to work.

A couple hours later I found my self sitting in Ash's room on his bed after he invited me in for a talk. But not a word was spoken after the invitation. So it was really awkward. I just looked around his bedroom at all the stuff he had.

Nothing stood out until my eyes reached his nightstand. Three photos were placed there in frames. One of them was of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, May, Max, and a feint blue light behind Ash. They all sat on a log in front of a river. It appeared to be raining.

Another picture was of the original trio, plus Pikachu. It was my self, Brock, and Ash. We were all standing in front of a big stadium from the Indigo Plateau. And finally the third picture was of Ash and Gary as little kids, playing together on the playground. Both of them were going down a slide at the same time.

Ash was not wearing a hat at the time, so his messy hair was exposed. He wore a blue shirt and a pair of yellow short shorts. Gary wore a pair of blue jeans and a a purple tang-top.

I remembered that those two used to be the best of friends as children, but it still surprised me to see that picture. But nothing surprised me more than the fact that Ash was finally able to speak.

"Hey Misty..."

"Yeah."

"Um...uh..."

"Go on. If you have something to say, Ash, just go ahead and say it. I'm all ears." i told him, referring to a time when I was getting ready to leave and go back to the Cerulean gym years ago.

"I...I can't do it. Sorry, Mist. But I'm not ready yet. I"m gonna go swimming." he said and got off the bed, leaving me alone and disappointed in his bedroom.

There was a time when I used to be deeply afraid to try tell him my feelings. Especially after my friend, Kacey, the baseball girl told me that if I were to tell him how I felt and he didn't reciprocate that things would be ruined forever. That's why I never considered telling him my self.

But only a couple weeks ago, I got an email from Kacey. This was a few days after we ran into her in Pewter City. She told me that I was free to tell Ash whatever I wanted because she tried asking him if he wanted to go on a date with her, but he shot her down. I was angry at Kacey for lying to me before, but I was more relieved that he turned her down. And ever since that day I felt more and more determined to tell him everything.

In the morning, on Friday the 13th, Mrs. Ketchum made the three of us a traditional eggs, bacon, and pancake breakfast. All of us had finished eating and were sitting at the table in the dining room. It was only a matter of time before we would all split up again to do our own things.

"Thanks, Mrs. K. I'm going to Professor Oak's lab to get the latest scoop on his research progress." Brock said, while tying his shoes.

"Where are you really going?" i asked him, knowing full well he was lying through his teeth.

Brock sweat dropped "Uh...girl hunting." he got off his chair and walked towards the front door.

"Have fun." Delia waved goodbye to him as he walked out the door. "Looks like it's just the three of us."

"Pika." Pikachu reminded us that he was still there. "Mime-mime." Mr. Mime also reminded us he was there. The two were both still eating their breakfast at a small kiddie table next to our's.

"I haven't forgotten about you two." Delia waved to the two, and received smiles from both.

"I'm gonna take off too, Mom." Ash shoved his crystal clear empty plate forward to show he was done eating. Then he took the last sip of orange juice out of his purple plastic cup.

"Did you lick your plate again?" his mom asked, giving him a look that said he would be in trouble if it was true.

"It makes it easier to clean during dishes." he said.

"Then YOU will be the one to do the dishes tonight." she said, taking all the empty plates and placing them in the sink.

Ash sighed and nodded. "Ok. But in the mean time I'm gonna go visit Gary. We're gonna talk about my strategy when I battle the Elite 4 next month." he signaled to Pikachu to follow him and he ran off to his bedroom.

Less than five minutes later he came running back into the kitchen wearing his original outfit from the Kanto and Johto days. Pikachu stood by his feet. "I'll see you later, Mom." he hugged his mother, and of course she hugged back.

"Try not to be gone all day."

"Ok." after the hug finished he walked out of the dining room, and before leaving the house completely he added "See ya, Misty."

"Bye, Ash!" I replied with a little too much exclamation. Then I sighed after hearing the door close.

"I know how you feel." Mrs. Ketchum said. I looked to her, and she looked just as depressed as I felt.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I hate to see him go too. And you know what? Even though he says he's gonna go talk about...'strategy'" she air quoted "and even though it's kind of weird as his mother to say this, I think he and Gary are just gonna talk about girls and stuff."

I quietly chuckled to my self. "I don't know. It seems like the only thing in the world he cares about is poke'mon and food."

"It does seem like it." Mrs. Ketchum agreed with me. And we both exchanged smiles. "So...is there a boy you like?" she asked me. A blush came to my face. I really wanted to hide it, but I wasn't sure how to do that without it being so obvious.

"Well...there was a few boys back in Cerulean that showed interest in me. But being the leader of the gym, I was like a super hero and couldn't get involved in relationships."

"But did YOU like any of those boys?" she asked me.

"To tell you the truth I wasn't impressed by any of them. They all wanted one thing and though I enjoy what they were after, I'm not gonna get involved with strangers." I couldn't believe I just said that to the mother of the boy I was madly in love with. Another bright red blush spread across my face.

"You know what I think?" she started. I focused my attention on her "I think the real reason you didn't want to get involved with those boys is because you have your eye on someone in particular."

She could see right through me. She knew. "What are you trying to say?" I asked, trying to drag it out as much as I could.

"I'm trying to say what I just said." she smiled.

"And that is...?"

"You love Ash." she said, taking me by surprise. "You love Aaash-you love Aaash." she teased, making me blush profusely.

"Stop it, I do not." I denied.

"But your blushing." she grinned.

"Fine! I love Ash! So what? You love him too." I hid my face in my hands.

"All right, I'll stop. But there is something you should know if your gonna be my future daughter-in-law." she said.

I removed my hands from covering my face. "Huh?"

"It's kind of a secret that I've kept for more than eight-teen years. I think...in fact, your the only one I've ever considered telling this to." her eyes became watery.

I knew something really serious was about to come from her mouth. "You don't have to tell me, Mrs. Ketchum." i said, even though I did feel kind of special knowing I would know something that not only her own son knew.

"I think you should hear this." she gathered her self and wiped the tears from her eyes with a clean ex.

"It was about nine-teen years ago that I met him..." Mrs. Ketchum began her story

-

19 years ago...February 1987

a much younger Delia carries platters of food through a crowded restaurant in a waitress outfit with a name tag and the title 'Viridian Grub' on her shirt. "Where the hell is our food?!" an angry man sitting at a table full of friends shouted.

"Coming!" Delia yelled while moving as fast as she could to her customer. But that was soon ended when she bumped into one of her co-waiters who was also carrying platters of food. The two fell to the floor and the food went flying.

"Watch where your going!" the waiter exclaimed.

"Sorry." she apologized and began picking up the now dirty food.

"Ketchum!" the restaurant's manager yelled, while walking up to her. "Come with me." she followed him into the back of the kitchen.

"This is the last time you'll be ruining everything." he said.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. It's just I've been under a lot of stress and-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. You will finish your shift and then your gone for good." he ordered.

Delia fought back the tears "Yes, Sir." she walked back out to where the people were. Her next table consisted of some familiar people.

"Delia." one of the two men at the table she was waiting for called.

"Jason?" Delia was happy to see him. Jason had black messy hair, with bangs that nearly covered his brown eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to take my girl out to a nice place." Jason replied. Sitting next to him at the round table was a blond girl, who Delia assumed to be his date. "This is Teressa." he introduced her

"Oh." Delia said, depressed.

"And you know my brother." Jason pointed to his older brother who sat across from him. He was tall, and had nicely combed black hair.

"Good to see you." he greeted Delia with a very deep voice.

"You too." she replied.

Hours later the night ended and Delia took several bus's home to her small cheap apartment down town. She locked her self in her bedroom and cried. She cried while police sirens went off outside.

Another couple hours later she laid on her bed asleep. But her sleep was soon interrupted by a knocking at the door. She exited her room and approached the door cautiously. She looked through the peep hole and was relieved to see who it was.

She opened the door to reveal "Jason? What are you doing here?"

"You already asked that question tonight." he said, walking past her into her apartment. He took a seat on an old, worn out, ugly brown couch. Delia just stood there. "Well sit down." he said, and she did as told.

"I'm glad you came by. But why?" she asked, curiously.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Terrible." she closed her eyes.

"Terrible? How come?" he asked, concerned.

"I lost my job today. And I hate this city so much." she sniffled.

"You were fired? I'm sorry to hear." he lowered his head.

"It's so hard." she started "Ever since my mom died. I had to move to the city, drop out of high school. Get a job. Things have been so tough. I can't do this anymore." she started to cry.

Jason scooted closer to her and gave her a comforting hug. "I know. Just don't give up."

Delia looked up into his eyes. She could see how concerned he was for her. Then she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you, Jay."

Jason didn't say a word. He just looked deep into her eyes and reciprocated the kiss with a follow-up kiss on her lips. She kissed back and they moved the scene to the bedroom.

-

Tears fell from Mrs. Ketchum's eyes on to the table as she told me the story. I was sure there was more to come based on the expression of sadness Mrs. Ketchum displayed. "Is Jason, Ash's father?" I asked.

Delia sobbed harder after my question, which made me regret asking it. "Sorry I asked." I apologized.

"That's ok. That is what my whole story is about anyways." she continued her story "Though we had just slept together, Jason continued seeing that other girl. So once again I was depressed. I'm still not sure how I managed to make it through all the tough times that lead to this very point in which we speak, but I did."

-

Three months later...May 1987

Delia took a jog on a hiking trail in the woods. She got back to her apartment, hot and sweaty. She ran cold water in the bath tub and got in. half an hour later she got out and wrapped a purple towel around her wet body.

She walked into the living room/kitchen to find that she was not alone. A tall man stood there in front of her with an evil grin. It was Jason's brother.

"...Giovanni?" she asked, frightened.

"Hey there, baby." he greeted and took a step towards her.

"What do you think your doing here?" her level of fear rose as he continued advancing on her.

"I'm here to wish you a happy birthday." he said and grabbed her arms.

Delia struggled to escape his grasp on her, but he was too strong. "Nooo!" she screamed.

Giovanni forced her into the bedroom and removed her towel.

-

Her story went on pause as she broke out in tears. I wasn't sure what to do. "Mrs. Ketchum?" I asked, concerned.

"I was raped that day on my 18th birthday by Giovanni Anderson, now the leader of Team Rocket. I have never spoken of the incident to anyone...until now." she told me with tears flooding her eyes.

"And Ash..."

"Yes. Ash's father is Giovanni." she told me. I couldn't believe what I just heard. "But there's more. I wasn't always the mother I am now. Not even close." she continued her amazing story that was about to get even more amazing.

-

One month later...June 1987

Delia sat on a toilet in her bathroom holding a pregnancy test. The result was final. A soft "No" escaped her throat. "No-no-no-no!" she threw the stick at the wall, and picked up several more objects, like her tooth brush and paste and shampoo bottles and slammed them into the mirror. She began sobbing heavily.

'Even though I did not want the child, an abortion wasn't an option. Because I still had a heart. So I hitched a ride to Pallet Town with a baby growing inside me. But as it turns out I didn't have that great a heart.'

8 months later...February 1988

A doctor held a new-born baby boy in his arms. Little black hairs were sprouted out of the crying baby's head. "Here's your new son." he tried handing him to her

"I don't want to hold him." she said with her arms crossed. The expression on her face was an angry one.

"But..." the doctor frowned and took the little one with him out of the room.

The next day Delia awoke. There was a crib in the direction she faced. She managed to get her self up and look down into the crib. There was her baby. The product of her rape nine months earlier. She started to sob once again.

It wasn't that long later that a female nurse arrived to check up on her. "Good morning, Delia. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap."

"Is to be expected of a new mother." the nurse said, while writing on a sheet of paper. "So where's the father?"

"Uh..." 'I didn't want to tell her the truth. I couldn't. so...' "He died... about...five months ago. It was two months after we got married." Delia lied.

"I'm so sorry." the nurse expressed her grief. Minutes later she asked another question. "Have you decided on a name?"

"A name? For the baby?" Delia asked.

"Yeah." the nurse looked down into the crib at the sleeping baby.

"No." Delia turned to her side on the bed, facing away from the nurse and the baby, and towards the window.

"How about 'Cutie' cuz he sure is cute." the nurse suggested. When she got no response from Mrs. Ketchum she suggested another one. "Bobby? or Satoshi? It's Japanese."

"No!" Delia yelled. The nurse was shocked at her outburst. "Maybe 'Dirt' would be a good name."

Delia looked at a calendar on the wall. The date was February 17th, 1988.

"You know today is Ash Wednesday. You could name him Ash." the nurse suggested.

"Ash huh? That's kind of like dirt right? All right then." Delia replied.

"Well if that's the way your thinking then I take it back."

"I get to choose! Now write 'Ash' down!" Delia yelled. The nurse did, and left the room.

'Though I had lived in Pallet Town for about eight months, I really wasn't settled in. Because I had a new baby and two jobs that ate up a lot of my time. Every night after I was done working and picking up Ash from the day care the two of us cried all night. I didn't get much sleep. This trend continued for quite some time.'

'Years later I proved to not be that great of a mother still. I yelled at and shook my son often for crying or doing something wrong. The anger I felt for everything that went wrong in my life was directed at this little child that didn't understand a thing in this world.'

A three year old Ash sat in front of a wall, drawing crazy lines on that wall with crayons. Delia walked into the room to see what he was doing. "Ash! What do you think your doing?!" she walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. Spankings followed. Then she shook him violently as he cried. Then she abandoned him by the wall, while she slammed the door shut to her bedroom.

-

Mrs. Ketchum sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes. "I was a horrible mother. Horrible."

Now I was crying my self. I couldn't picture Mrs. Ketchum acting as cruel as she said she was. It seemed un-plausible.

"I never took the time to teach him much either. Including potty training. He wore diapers for five years. And well..." a smile formed on her lips "that's why I tell him to change his underwear all the time."

But I couldn't smile. Tears just poured out of my eyes like a dam had just been busted. "I don't think I was ready to know all this stuff." I wiped my tears.

Delia laughed through her tears which were still streaming down her cheeks. "But it's not over yet."

-

Three years later...February 17th, 1994

Delia slept in her bed under a thin stained white sheet. No blanket or pillow case for the lone pillow her head was rested on. On the nightstand beside the bed was a walk man and a radio alarm clock. The radio alarm clock read 7:35am.

"Wake up, Mommy. Wake up." Ash shook his mother. She pushed him away.

"No. I want to sleep." she closed her eyes tightly.

"But it's my birthday, Mommy." he reminded her, and pulled the sheet off her body. She tried to warm her self by moving into a fetal position. "Nooo." she whined.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to meee. Happy birthday to me." Ash jumped up and down on the bed.

"I don't care." she said, still trying to warm her self. Ash was heartbroken. He stopped jumping and lied down, where he fell asleep with his mother.

Several hours later Delia woke up. She saw the time on the alarm clock was 10:57am. She stretched and yawned in bed. Then she looked behind her to see her sleeping son. She couldn't help but feel guilty about earlier. She took a shower and got dressed.

"Ash...Ashy." she shook her son slightly. His eyes slowly opened. "Get up. It's time to go celebrate your birthday." she said.

He instantly became energized and started hopping up and down on the bed. "Yay-yay-yay. My birthday!"

"Let's get you dressed." she smiled and got him dressed. Before leaving her apartment she picked up her walkman from her nightstand and put in a Tom Petty & The Heart breaker's cassette. Then they were on their way out the door.

The two walked down the street. "Where are we going, Mommy?" Ash asked, looking up at his mom.

"A poke'mon zoo."

"What's poke'man?" Ash asked,

"You'll find out soon enough. Now could you do me a favor and be quiet while I listen to music?" she asked her son.

"Ok!" he shouted. He was very excited about getting to see 'pokeman' at the zoo.

Delia listened to the song 'American Girl' and sang the lyrics out loud as they walked. The two soon came to a cross walk. While Delia crossed the street, lost in the song, Ash held back, playing with a caterpie he found.

"Hey Mommy, I found something." Ash called. But his mom couldn't hear him, nor was she paying attention to her surroundings. A Ford Truck was speeding towards her with the music blasting. The two teens in the front of the truck were not paying attention either.

Ash saw that the vehicle was on a collision course with his mother. "Mommy!" he yelled, but still she could not hear him. He did the only thing he could do. He took off running towards his mom and got to her just in time. He pushed her out of the way right as the car arrived. Unfortunately he wasn't able to dodge the impact of the collision himself. He took the hit and went rolling.

Delia removed the head phones from her ears and looked back to see her son laying in the street, still as a rock. She watched as the truck continued on down past the road, with no license plate on the back. "Nooo!" she screamed and ran to her son. "Ash? Ash! Son-wake up! Please god, please!"

-

I was in dis-belief of what I just heard. Ash saved his mother from serious injuries or worse. Tears poured out of each our eyes.

"He suffered a concussion and broken bones in his arm and ribs. He was out for weeks in that hospital. When he came to he couldn't remember anything, except that it was his birthday and he'd be getting to go to a poke'mon zoo." she told me.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and face. She did the same. "Incredible."

"When he was fully recovered less than a year later we went to that zoo in November. It was the happiest day of his life. It was right around the time that the song 'Amazing' by Aerosmith came out. I bought the album and listened to it every day. The combination of that song and Ash saving my life gave me a new outlook on life. I became a better and more responsible parent to my son." she managed to tell me through her tears.

"That was an amazing story." I said, extremely choked up.

"I know. That was so-so sad." the pool boy, Bryan said walking into the kitchen. Delia, Mr. Mime, and my self were all surprised to see him. We each glared at him.

"What? You have a very thin sliding glass door." he said, pointing back to the open door.

"Please get out, Bryan." Mrs. Ketchum ordered. He did as told and left, sliding the door shut behind him.

"So I have a question, Mrs. Ketchum." I told her. She nodded and I continued "Why does everyone call you Mrs. Ketchum instead of Ms. Ketchum if you were never married?"

"Well when I told the nurse that my husband died, I ran with it. No one knew me in this town and I dragged it out. I just didn't want anyone to know about the rape. I said my husband's name was Jay Ketchum, and thus I had to create a maiden name, which was 'Preston.'" it was incredible getting to hear all this stuff that no one knew, and perhaps no one but me would ever get to know. But just maybe all this would start her in the direction of being open to everyone about it.

Delia looked up at the purple clock on the wall. It was 10:20am. "Hopefully Ash will be home soon." she said, while turning around to look out the window. There was worry in her eyes. To that I smiled. Because now I knew that she at one time wouldn't have even thought about him while he was away from the house.

"So do you have a story, Misty? Mine only took about an hour to complete." I shook my head in response.

I heard the front door open and then shut soon after. A disappointed and upset Brock walked into the kitchen with his head lowered. I looked up at the clock. It now read 10:29am. "Hi, Brock. What's wrong?" Delia frowned after asking the question, seeing how hurt he looked.

"I was hitting on this really hot chick at the bus station when Team Rocket came and ruined everything." he explained.

"Sorry to hear." Mrs. Ketchum said.

"So what have you ladies been talking about?" he asked us. I looked at Mrs. Ketchum and she looked at me. We both smiled. Then I heard the front door open again. Pikachu soon found his way into the kitchen, running in.

"My Ash is home." Mrs. Ketchum said, happily and relieved.

Soon Ash walked into the kitchen. He was not alone. Professor Oak, Tracy, and Gary stood with him. "Hello, everyone." Professor Oak greeted.

"Hi, Sam. What is everyone doing here?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

"Ash invited the Professor and I over to tell us something." Tracy told her.

Professor Oak and Tracy sat down at the table. Brock was leaning against the wall behind the table. We all braced our selves for what Ash had to say. Gary stood with Ash.

"Well I think I'm finally able to come clean. I've been at Gary's house, where he's been helping me to do this." Ash said. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and I dont think anyone else knew what to expect either.

"Well..." he started. Then something happened that NO one expected. Gary took Ash's hand. "You can do this, Ash. You can do it." he encouraged him. My eyes got wide.

"Ok then. Professor, Tracy, Brock, Misty, Mom..." he listed our names before telling us "Gary and I are seeing each other."

all of us had the same jaw dropping/shock/gasp reaction. I think I was more surprised than anyone. Because I was the only one that did this...

"How can you be gay you idiot?!" i yelled. "You stupid moron! How-how-how?" I felt the tears coming again. I thought I was all out from earlier, but apparently not.

"It's just the way I am, Misty. Why would you care?" he asked me.

"Because I'm in love with you!" I screamed. Then I broke out crying, and ran out of the house. I ran into the forest. That was the last time I saw any of them.

Present time...July 13th, 2011

I sat at a desk in my Cerulean City home, typing on the computer when my Yahoo account said I had email. I went to the in box. It was an email from pikapi at msn dot com. I knew it was Ash, because I received several emails from him since I left him four years ago.

The email was an invitation to his wedding with Gary in a week. I deleted it. That's when I knew we would never be friends again, I would never be able to forgive or accept him. Brock accused me of hating gays, but if Ash had come home with a new girlfriend, I would have reacted the same way.

A couple weeks later, Brock informed me how the wedding went. He was the best man...of Ash, while Tracy was the best man of Gary. He said that even though Mrs. Ketchum was disappointed, she accepted him, but still wished he was straight and would have married me.

He also told me that their pool boy, Bryan was at the wedding, where everyone found out he was Ash's half brother. Bryan's mom was named Teressa. Bryan was a Team Rocket spy, and kidnapped all of them, including him self(Brock).

And so this story doesn't really end with a conclusion, but a cliff-hanger.

It turns out none of this was a dream...it's what really happened...

**THE END**

**WTF?!?**

_**I know most of you didn't appreciate this ending and that's just fine. But I gave you hints during the story and it is called 'Secrets.' Ash can't have the same secret as Misty, other wise it would be boring right? Oh and the scene where Ash saves his mom from the car, is based on a scene from a story called 'Lost Thoughts' by Legacy, I definitely advise that you read it.**_

_**And dont be surprised if you see a sequel to this story...**_

**_Trivia: This story is the 13th I've written(to go along with the whole Friday the 13th thing)_**


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